Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine

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USB controllers are available to add to virtual machines to support USB passthrough from an ESXi host or from a client computer to a virtual machine.

With VMRC, you can add one virtual xHCI controller, one virtual EHCI controller, and one virtual UHCI controller per virtual machine. In the vSphere Web Client, you can add one xHCI controller and one EHCI+UHCI controller. With Hardware Version 11, the supported number of root hub ports per xHCI controller is eight (four logical USB 3.0 ports and four logical USB 2.0 ports).

The conditions for adding a controller vary, depending on the device version, the type of passthrough (host or client computer), and the guest operating system.

Table 1. USB Controller Support

Controller type

Supported USB Device Version

Supported for Passthrough from ESXi Host to VM

Supported for Passthrough from Client Computer to VM

EHCI+UHCI

2.0 and 1.1

Yes

Yes

xHCI

3.0, 2.0, and 1.1

Yes (USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 devices only)

Yes (Linux, Windows 8 and later, and Windows Server 2012 and later guests)

For Mac OS X systems, the EHCI+UHCI controller is enabled by default and is required for USB mouse and keyboard access.

For virtual machines with Linux guests, you can add one or both controllers, but 3.0 superspeed devices are not supported for passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine. You cannot add two controllers of the same type.

For USB passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, the USB arbitrator can monitor a maximum of 15 USB controllers. If your system includes controllers that exceed the 15 controller limit and you connect USB devices to them, the devices are not available to the virtual machine.

Prerequisites

ESXi hosts must have USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 devices present.

Client computers must have USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 devices present.

To use the xHCI controller on a Linux guest, ensure that the Linux kernel version is 2.6.35 or later.